Ever wondered what it takes to build games based on iconic properties? How do you stay grounded to that concept?

We sat down with the cake-loving, potato-signing Chris Avellone at this years AVCon to ask exactly that. Chris is responsible for some of the industry’s most live properties, including Fallout and Forgotten Realms, as well as being lead designer for the acclaimed Planescape: Torment.

If you look at the top Action-RPG makers of today, they all started in a similar fashion. All began with a release that was lacking in a few core features and technical polish. Both FATE (precursor to Torchlight) and the original Diablo had a number of annoying niggles that were ironed out with future games. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing feels just like that… an extremely competent and pleasing experience with just a bit of fraying around the edges.

Spellirium has that feeling of a game from my childhood re-imagined and upgraded to fit into todays times. It’s a point-n-click adventure, but without all that silly ‘make sure you click here and combine the turkey and the jackhammer’ nonsense, it’s also a word puzzle game that actually has a story and purpose. Finally it has a charming atmosphere coupled with amazingly witty dialogue. Sold yet?

Techland seem to think they can breathe new life into the mutated, infected and somewhat overplayed zombie genre with their new game, Dead Island: Riptide — a spin-off of the original title in which you play the role of a survivor immune to the zombie virus, trying to escape yet another island. While the first game was fresh and lively, the sad truth is that the new game seems like a tired old clown performing the same old tricks in the hope of a new laugh.

It may look something like Luke Skywalker’s mechanical hand, but a gamepad like this can be an invaluable resource for the hardcore gamer. Razer’s latest offering boasts a flexible construction and mechanical keyboards — Bane Williams puts it to the test.

Although derided by the PC master race for being a console exclusive, the reminiscence that DUST 514 has to its elder brother EVE Online is staggering. From the way the game starts, its music, its menu system, even the way you outfit your soldiers — all of it has that traditional EVE feeling. Bane Williams has been playing both, and explains more.

Farming Simulator 2013 is a game that hits many of my guilty pleasure buttons. While many people will find the thought of tending a field for hours on end mind-numbingly boring, for me games like this provide a great open ended challenge that is also simple enough to let my mind wander while I play. In providing this, Farming Simulator 2013 succeeds — although unfortunately, it’s about the only place.

The Berserker is a surprising powerhouse of a character. While traditional warrior types are the standard tank characters, Berserker is more of a barbarian, dealing out phenomenally powerful attacks based on rage alone. It’s also one of the fastest damage dealers, capable of blindingly fast speed due to claw synergies.

The subject of our third Torchlight II class guide is the Embermage — an absolute powerhouse. While traditionally one of the weaker character classes, its ability to bring out masses of sustained damage over large swathes of enemies is practically unparalleled. Outlander might be able to do an amazing hit every now and then, but you can do almost as good numbers every time you hit.

From the most flexible character in Torchlight II — the Engineer — we switch to the least, the Outlander. The Outlander has a problem in that the requirement for its weapons is dexterity, but damage is based off of strength, and as such there is only one viable core build that works in elite difficulties.

Having said this, Outlander can be an incredible blast to play, so we will throw in a super-serious build for those elite players, as well as a fun build that you can essentially make your own for as long as it continues to work.

Today marks the first instalment of our Torchlight II build guides, beginning with the editor-in-chief’s personal favourite — the Engineer. In this guide we’ll explore two different possible builds, describe the sort of gear you’ll need, where to put your points, and how to play. Let’s kick it off.

Many games have tried and failed recently to capture the perfect balance of strategy and management required for a successful 4X game. Thankfully, Endless Space hits that balance almost perfectly, and throws in gorgeous graphics, amazing UI and incredible versatility to boot. Bane Williams reports.

Over the weekend, games.on.net had the chance to finally play with Guild Wars 2‘s diminutive asura for the first time in any public beta. Read on for our thoughts, as well as footage of the little guys in action.

Despite only being out for two weeks, gold sellers and spammers are already present in Diablo III‘s chat channels in their droves. Bane Williams plays the game 24/7, and offers his thoughts on the situation and what Blizzard should do to resolve it.

One of Diablo III‘s most contentious new features was the auction house system – but Bane Williams is here to show you how to make the most from the auction house, what items to buy, how to price, and when to sell for maximum profit.

No MMO can launch without a good crafting system, but, as Bane Williams explains, Guild Wars 2 is going to launch with one of the deepest, most interesting crafting systems yet. Read on for all the details.